First Meeting
by threewhitedoves
Summary: The first meeting between Vernon and James. POTTERMORE SPOILERS!


**_POTTERMORE SPOILERS! _**

**_Well... this is my first HP one!_**

**Edit: I'm thinking I might do another one on some more pottermore info. Any suggestions? **

**Follow me on Tumblr, link's on my page :)**

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><p><em>The first meeting between Lily, her boyfriend James Potter, and the engaged couple, went badly, and the relationship nose-dived from there. James was amused by Vernon, and made the mistake of showing it. Vernon tried to patronize James, asking what car he drove. James described his racing broom. Vernon supposed out loud that wizards had to live on unemployment benefit. James explained about Gringotts, and the fortune his parents had saved there, in solid gold. Vernon could not tell whether he was being made fun of or not, and grew angry. The evening ended with Vernon and Petunia storming out of the restaurant, while Lily burst into tears and James (a little ashamed of himself) promised to make things up with Vernon at the earliest opportunity.<em>

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><p>"Please come, Petunia, I miss you so much!"<p>

"No, Lily! My life is finally perfectly normal. I don't need you and your freak of a boyfriend to mess it all up!"

Lily sighed loudly down the phone, used to her sister's views on 'her kind', before speaking softly. "Have you told him about us?"

Petunia inwardly groaned, remembering the embarrassing conversation with Vernon in front of the chip shop after the movie. "Yes. I'm lucky that he is so understanding and doesn't hold it against me!"

Lily paused, before saying softly "I haven't changed you know Tuney. I'm still the girl you used to play with, well, before I got my letter." She held her breath, waiting for her sister's response.

Petunia clicked her tongue in agitation "I don't have time for this!" She snapped, "I will ask Vernon if he wishes to go. If not, then I might see you at christmas."

Before Lily had the chance to reply Petunia hung up.

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><p>Petunia glanced around the room. The perfectly normal room without any moving pictures or singing teapots and wondered if she really wanted to do this. She didn't have to see her sister, her life could stay as it was. But there was a strange feeling of longing gnawing away at her mind, one that she didn't quite understand. She took a deep breath and shakily returned her tea cup to its saucer, then moved to face Vernon. "Vernon, dear?"<p>

Vernon looked up at her with curiosity, taking a bite out of the cake he had been holding and signalled for her to continue.

"My sis- Lily called this morning" She paused, waiting for his reaction.

Vernon swallowed his cake thickly and made a disgusted face, "The freak?"

"Yes, her and her… her… boyfriend wish to have dinner with us tomorrow night" Petunia said quickly, so she wouldn't back down. She fixed her gaze on the teacup, afraid to meet his eyes.

Vernon thought for a moment, considering the most likely outcome. He turned to face Petunia and slowly nodded. "I am not afraid of those freaks. We will go and meet them, and show them that they have no place in our world."

Petunia let out a sigh of relief and picked up her teacup again, taking a sip. "Then it is settled. We will meet my sister and her boyfriend tomorrow evening for dinner. Now my sweet, what would you like for dinner?"

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><p>"Stop fidgeting! They will be here soon." Lily whispered harshly to James, leaning back and taking a sip of wine.<p>

"Sorry, you know I hate wearing these horrible suits. They're so coarse and scratchy. I'd have much preferred dress robes." James said, adjusting his slim, blue tie once more.

"The Ministry would be on to us within minutes, and you know I'm trying to impress Petunia. I miss her James, I really do. I want her to speak to me again. She won't do that unless she gets Vernon's approval. She wants to be the perfect housewife. The perfect, normal, housewife. She won't do anything without his consent" Lily sighed and scanned the restaurant again for any sign of her sister and fiancé.

Petunia stepped out of the car and gently shut the door before walking to the front of the vehicle and slipping her hand into Vernon's.

Vernon looked at her and nodded to himself. "Let us go".

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><p>They both held their heads high as they strode towards the front of the formal restaurant. When they entered, Vernon half expected to find two slimy green monsters sitting at their reserved table, not two perfectly normal looking human beings. Determined to make them look foolish he walked with an air of importance over to their table, holding Petunia tightly at his side.<p>

Lily's bright green eyes widened as she saw Petunia and a large, neck less man she assumed to be Vernon, stride through the front doors and make their way towards their table.

"James" she whispered, but he didn't hear her, too preoccupied with his jacket.

"James!" She said a little louder, prodding his arm. This caught his attention and he looked up at her with a questioning look in his eyes. She nodded her head in her sister's direction and watched as realisation dawned on James' face. He sat up a little straighter and folded his hands on the table in front of them, attempting to look 'normal'. Lily had to stifle a giggle. This look did not suit James at all, but she appreciated his effort to impress Vernon and Petunia.

As the couple reached the table, Lily and James stood to shake hands and do introductions.

"Hi! I'm James Potter" James smiled and stuck his hand awkwardly in Vernon's direction just as Lily had instructed him to earlier that day while explaining muggle customs.

Vernon eyed the hand for a moment, briefly wondering if it had something contagious, before grasping his hand firmly, until satisfied with the look of discomfort on James' face.

"Vernon Dursley, junior executive of Grunnings." He said proudly as he let go of James' hand. James subtly flexed his hand before forcing a smile and turning to Petunia.

"You must be Petunia. Lily has told me so much about you!" James wasn't sure what to do next so he simply stood there.

Not accustomed to such enthusiasm, Petunia only offered a tight smile and slid into her chair, not acknowledging Lily further than a sharp nod.

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><p>Once they had placed their order, James sat back and took a moment to consider Vernon. He was quite large, by normal standards, and had thick, dark hair and small, beady, blue eyes. James wondered briefly, how he could see through such bushy eyebrows. Furthering his appraisal, James couldn't help but laugh a little at how foolish Vernon looked with only a small portion of his neck showing, due to the surely uncomfortable angle he kept his chin at.<p>

Hearing James' small laugh, the party turned to him, Lily's eyebrows creased in an effort to understand what was so funny, and both Petunia and Vernon looked at him as if he were mad. James just shook his head and signalled for Vernon to carry on speaking about his job.

Half way through Vernon's speech James began to grow restless, realising how boring muggle life was without magic. He could not understand why Vernon would want to work with such dangerous devises, when there was such a simple spell to do all the work a 'drill' would be required for. Another thing James realised was that Vernon was speaking in an almost patronizing tone, as if to mock him. This caused James to laugh again at the hilarity of such a thought. Vernon Dursley, a lowly muggle, was mocking Lily Evans and James Potter, two exceptional witches and wizards.

Hearing James laugh again, Vernon began to get frustrated, what did he find so funny? There was nothing funny about his work, it was all very serious. Vernon decided the only way to wipe the smirk that James was now wearing, off his face, was to make a fool of him.

"So James, what car do you drive?"

James immediately brightened at the prospect of explaining his preferred mode of transport to Vernon.

Looking around to make no one was listening in, James explained to Vernon and Petunia about his much loved broom, acquired during his fifth year at Hogwarts.

Lily couldn't help but smile at how James' eyes lit up while talking about his beloved broom. She glanced towards the couple and laughed a little at the colour changes in both their faces, Vernon's was turning gradually redder and Petunia's was losing colour fast and her lips were almost too thin to see.

Desperate to steer the conversation his way again, Vernon wondered aloud, "I suppose wizards would have to live on unemployment benefit..."

"Oh no, of course not." James shook his head with indignation. "In Diagon Alley we have a bank, called Gringotts, my parents saved up quite a bit of gold throughout their time and left me the key to their vault when they died."

Vernon looked ready to explode, his face now the colour of an extremely ripe tomato, and Petunia was as white as a sheet. Lily squeezed James' knee, and tried to meet his eyes, willing him to slow down.

"Actual Gold? Solid gold?" Vernon managed to squeak out.

James smiled, "Yes, gold. Galleons, sickles and knuts. Gringotts is the safest place in the world! Apart from Hogwarts, of course. No thief could get past the goblins" James chuckled, not seeing the looks of pure horror on the couple's faces.

Lily squeezed his knee harder, James looked at her quizzically as she widened her eyes dramatically and looked over towards Vernon and Petunia, who were sitting in shock. Realisation dawned on his face and he fell silent.

"I'm sorry-"he begun, but was cut off by Vernon standing up, grabbing Petunia's hand and pulling her with him.

"I've had enough! I tried to keep a level head, but you two are loonies! The both of you are nothing but – but freaks! All this nonsense about 'goblins' and flying broomsticks! The pair of you belong in a mental institution!" He almost yelled, dropping his voice at the last sentence.

Petunia saw something flash in James' eyes and he muttered something under his breath, the knife between them slowly started to rise, then stopped to hover in the air a few inches above the table. It wasn't much, but enough to spook Petunia, who ran out of the restaurant with a loud squeal. Vernon glared at them one more time, before storming after Petunia, and out of the door.

By now, most people around them were either subtly listening in or blatantly staring. Lily rested her face in her palms, grabbing at her hair. "I just wanted one normal evening. Is that too much to ask?" She breathed, her voice slightly muffled by her hands.

James placed his hand on her back, rubbing small circles to try and calm her down. "I know Lily, I'm really sorry. I promise I'll sort things out with Vernon later. Okay?"

Lily looked up, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. "Really?" Her voice cracked a little.

James sighed. "You have my word."

He gently brushed away a falling tear with his thumb, before standing up and offering her his hand.

"Now let's go home. It's been a long day"

Lily smiled weakly and stood up, gingerly wiping under her eyes and leaving a few muggle bills down on the table. She took James' hand and they walked out of the restaurant and around the corner, into an alleyway. After checking to make sure no one was around they looked at each other and smiled. "Who wants to be normal anyway?" James said. "If we were normal, we couldn't do this" and with a crack, they disappeared.

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><p><strong>Please review? :)<strong>


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